Premier urges further cuts to taxes, fees

Policies aim to energize market to stabilize the country's economy

Premier Li Keqiang underlined on Wednesday the need to cut more taxes and fees to help relieve the difficulties of market entities and energize the market in order to stabilize the country's economy.

Li made the remarks while chairing a symposium on tax and fee reduction to further lessen the burdens of businesses. The meeting was attended by officials from the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration, as well as financial experts and officials from various provincial governments.

The large-scale tax and fee cut policies are key to macroeconomic control, Li said, adding that more than 8.6 trillion yuan ($1.35 trillion) has been cumulatively cut in taxes and fees since 2016.

He said that such policies have further stimulated the vitality of market entities and contributed to expanding consumption and effective investment, and have also helped stabilize growth, ensure employment and prevent inflation.

Practice has proved that tax and fee cut policies considerably benefit enterprises and play a crucial role in dealing with the difficulties and challenges in keeping economic operation within a reasonable range, Li said.

While highlighting the policies, especially the support for the upgrading of manufacturing as well as small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses, Li said they also have promoted innovation and industrial upgrading while lessening the burdens of market entities.

He pointed out that given the multiple international and domestic factors, the country's economy is experiencing fresh downward pressure. He called for efforts to work out stronger measures to cut taxes and fees to ensure a good start for the Chinese economy in the first quarter in order to stabilize the overall situation of the macroeconomy.

While sustaining the existing measures for tax and fee cuts to support small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses, as well as strengthening deduction of the value-added tax, targeted steps should be taken to help businesses in the service industry that create many jobs but have been hit hard by the pandemic, Li said.

Government departments should tighten their belts and slash administrative expenditures to help market entities stabilize and have good expectations, he said.

While emphasizing financial support from the central government, the premier asked local governments to work out their own measures to carry out the tax and fee cut policies.

In the meantime, Li said, all acts of tax evasion and fraud must be cracked down on, and illegal charging of fees must be halted.

He asked departments of the State Council and local governments to take firm action to promote stable, sustained and healthy development of the country's economy.